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The University of Utah Athletics
Ute Softball Concludes Deseret First Duel Series Saturday at BYU
4/23/2009 12:00 AM | Softball
April 23, 2009
The University of Utah softball team resumes Mountain West Conference action in the final Deseret First Duel softball game of the season against BYU set for Saturday at 2 p.m. in Provo, Utah. Utah's seven-game week concludes with another doubleheader against Utah Valley at home tomorrow. First pitch from Ute Softball Field is set for 12 p.m.
Deseret First Duel to be televised by BYU-TV: Coverage of Saturday's Deseret First Duel matchup against BYU in Provo, Utah, will be telecast live on BYU-TV. The game will also be re-aired on The Mtn. Sunday at noon. Jarom Jordan will handle the play-by-play and Cynthia Fallowfield will be the color analyst. Fans can also check Gametracker for live stats of all seven games this week.
In-state talent: Eleven of Utah's 18 student-athletes on its softball roster are natives of the Beehive State. "I want to have a majority of the team built around kids from the state of Utah," head coach Amy Hogue said. "Some of the most successful seasons that we have had here have been led by local kids. That's a true testament to what I believe builds a strong program. There's plenty of talent in the state of Utah and I want people to realize that."
Deseret First Duel: Utah has already clinched a victory for the 2008-09 season with a 39.5-24.5 lead of the 65.5-point series. The rivalry series includes competition in the 12 sports the two universities compete in head-to-head during regular-season play for which the winner earns points after each head-to-head competition. Points won by the individual sports will count toward each school's overall total. The Utah vs. BYU rivalry is one of the oldest and strongest in the country. In November 2005, the Wall Street Journal rated the rivalry the fourth best in college athletics.
Swinging for the Fences: After the Utes clubbed 10 home runs in a pair of mid-week doubleheaders at Utah Valley and Southern Utah, Utah leads the Mountain West Conference with 51 home runs this season. Twelve different Utes have notched round-trippers this year, led by Kara Foster (Derby, Kan.) (16), Whitney Holm (Spanish Fork, Utah) (9), Angie Boardman (Spokane, Wash.) (8), Staci Hemingway (West Valley, Utah) (4), Hannah Clements (Poway, Calif.) (3), Jasey Jensen (Layton, Utah) (3), Sharee Fonoti (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) (2), Brooke Olson (Bluffdale, Utah) (2), Andrea Hoffman (West Valley, Utah) (1), Tori Medina (Taylorsville, Utah) (1), Bonnie Muir (West Jordan, Utah) (1) and Tia Palauni (Taylorsville, Utah) (1).
Close-call Utes: The Utes have been in 12 one-run games this season and have a 7-5 mark in those contests. In their most recent one-run affair, the Utes dropped an 8-7 decision to Southern Utah as Shannon Lum drove a walk-off home run to center field with one out in the seventh inning.
Foster becomes Utah's all-time home run leader: Foster passed Melissa Stahnke (2001-04) for Utah's school home run record with a solo home run in the third inning of Utah's second game at Utah Valley on Tuesday. After hitting another one Wednesday at Southern Utah, Foster has now hit 51 career home runs.
Clean-fielding Utes: Utah was second in this week's MWC statistics in fielding percentage and currently sports a .963 mark.
Utes in the Mountain: The Utes earned their first MWC win April 18 against UNLV after losing their first four decisions in conference play in 2009. Utah saw its all-time conference record dip to 301-205-1, good for a .595 winning percentage. Last season, Utah finished third in the MWC after going 10-10 in league play in its first season under Hogue.
Utes fourth in MWC Preseason Poll: Utah was tabbed fourth in the 2009 MWC Preseason Poll, the conference office announced Jan. 28. The Utes tallied 14 points in the voting, picked to finish sixth in last season's voting before placing third in 2009. BYU tied for first place in the preseason poll.
Last MWC game: Utah was shut out by San Diego State, 11-0, in a Mountain West Conference game April 18 at Ute Softball Field. Utah got two hits on the day, one each from the third and fourth spots in the batting order, respectively: Hemingway and Boardman. Hemingway was 1-for-3 at the plate, while Boardman went 1-for-2.
The Utes had the bases loaded in the sixth inning, as Fonoti drew a leadoff walk. After a pair of strike outs, Boardman came through with a single up the middle on the first pitch she saw. Holm took first base after reaching on an error but the Aztecs managed to get the final strikeout.
Utah Valley recap: Foster set the Utah home run record with her 50th career round-tripper in the third inning of the second game and the Utes split a doubleheader at Utah Valley, winning the first game 4-2 and losing the second game 6-4, Tuesday at Mstar Field in Orem, Utah. Medina was 2-for-3 at the plate in the two games, including a triple.
Southern Utah recap: Boardman went 5-for-7 on the day with two home runs, five runs batted in and four runs scored as Utah split its doubleheader at Southern Utah, losing the first game 8-7 and winning the second, 12-10, Wednesday at Kathryn Berg Field in Cedar City, Utah. Utah got impressive offensive performances from Foster and Fonoti. Foster went 4-for-6 and extended her school-record home run mark to 51. Fonoti also was 4-for-6 at the plate, highlighted by her second home run of the season.
Last time against BYU: Utah dropped a pair of games to BYU April 10 and 11 at Ute Softball Field. In the first game of the Deseret First Duel Series, Utah got solo home runs by Boardman and Clements in the fifth inning, Utah took an 11-2 loss. In the second game, Utah got hits from Olson, Jensen and Brittany Parker (Murray, Utah), but could not avoid a 15-0 loss. Lindsey Palmer (Stansbury Park, Utah) got the start in the circle for the Utes as her record fell to 3-4 this season.
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